US misses UN human rights review - thoughts from a Muslim perspective
As-salamu alaykum. I saw news that the United States didn’t send anyone to its scheduled United Nations human rights review, making it only the second country ever to skip this routine check.
The Universal Periodic Review, which looks at each UN member’s human rights record every few years, went ahead yesterday without a US delegation. The UN Human Rights Council president said the US was expected but was not present. Washington had announced in August that it would not attend, joining Israel as the only other country to miss the process. Issues expected to come up included LGBTQ rights, immigrant protections, and the death penalty.
Representatives from some countries criticized the US absence. China said it showed disrespect for the review process, and Cuba suggested the US might be avoiding greater scrutiny. The US State Department pushed back, saying that as a founding UN member and defender of individual freedoms, it would not accept lectures from certain council members.
This lines up with recent US policy trends of skepticism toward international oversight. The administration has been resistant to institutions that it feels limit US actions, and at times has targeted international bodies critical of allies. Officials have argued that multilateral processes can impose constraints and offer little benefit.
Just my two cents - from a Muslim viewpoint I think accountability is important and international reviews can be useful even if imperfect. We should welcome fair scrutiny while also being wary of double standards. What do you all think?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news